


Fire and Blood

by Babylawyer



Series: SpookyOQ [1]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/M, SpookyOQ, Vampires
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-22
Updated: 2018-10-28
Packaged: 2019-08-05 11:23:23
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 18,665
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16366958
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Babylawyer/pseuds/Babylawyer
Summary: A SpookyOQ fic based on this prompt: Robin is a vampire, Regina’s a witch it’s forbidden for them to be together but they can’t stay apart.Witches and vampires are sworn enemies. Witches hunt vampires to protect humans and are trying rid the world of vampires for good. Set during the Vardo witch trials (1621), an enchanted mask is stolen and brings these two together.





	1. Mask

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to AJ (ariestess) and Ana (write_read_play) for the betas and words of encouragement.

Vampires, they are the bane of all witches' existence. Constantly preying on the poor unsupecting humans and trying to up the ranks of their population. A witch's job is simple, to protect her village from the vampires at all costs. The people they protect don't fear vampires, instead they fear witches, burning and drowning any of their own who are suspected of witchcraft. It's ironic really, the villagers fear and try to rid themselves of those that protect them, while their real enemy lurks in the shadows.

Regina Mills watches over the District of Finnmark, with her Mother Cora, stepfather Rumple, and sisters Zelena and Mary Margaret. Normally such a large magical family would be split up. Regina had prayed when she turned 18 to get assigned somewhere else, anywhere else, but luck was not on her side as there was and still is a very active group of vampires in their area that keeps the family together.

The group of vampires is led by Nottingham, a very clever vampire who stole the enchanted mask, allowing him to pose as a human and roam undetected by magic. He passed unnoticed as an advisor to the King, whispering in King Christian's ear the dangers of witchcraft and sorcery. Most of King Christian's speeches denouncing witchcraft came directly from Nottingham.

Their district has been hit especially hard by witchcraft trials, as Nottingham and his men helped to spread the hysteria. Regina hates him and his men with every fiber of her being. She's watched far too many of the people she is sworn to protect become victims to the vampires, after bogus trials that deem them guilty of witchcraft.

Her whole family seems content to sit by and let their people be burned alive. They won't let Regina intervene and save these poor women. Only Mary Margaret stood by her when she begged them to reconsider, but quickly acquiesced to Cora and Rumple leaving Regina to fight alone.

Regina takes small comfort in the fact that they were able to take the mask back from Nottingham. Now he and his men can no longer pose as villagers and roam undetected, immune from tracking spells.

She doesn't understand why they haven't attacked yet. Nottingham and his men cannot hide from them, but her mother and Rumple are biding their time for some reason, and Regina isn't strong enough on her own to fight them all.

So she waits, impatiently, stuck guarding the mask when they should be protecting their district. She doesn't really understand why she has to guard it to begin with, she sealed the area with magic that keeps out anyone who has drank human blood. Human blood takes two weeks to get out of a vampire's system and by that time they'd have starved to death, so no vampire is getting through her spell.

Still, she doesn't totally mind watch duty, because it keeps her away from her family. The mask is kept in their vault, which has a huge library of magical scholarship to keep her entertained.

She's reading up on blood magic when she hears a sound. She looks around, on edge, waiting for one of her idiot sisters to come and bother her, but neither appears. She listens carefully but doesn't hear anything else. She tells herself she imagined it, even though she's fairly confident she did not.

She goes to check on the mask, just to be certain, and what she finds shocks her. There's a man in her vault, or maybe not a man, his skin is greyed like a vampire but he doesn't look quite right, doesn't have that repulsive edge she associates with vampires. He's quite… attractive, with piercing blue eyes. She's never seen a vampire with blue eyes before. They all have red eyes, or so she thought, stained from the blood, but, blue eyes aside, this man is definitely a vampire.

How did this beast break in? Her spell was supposed to keep all of them out. They stare each other down for a second, both unmoving as they asses the situation.

Then she hears a surprisingly gentle voice whisper, "I'm sorry," as her whole world goes black.

* * *

He feels bad truly, it's not this witch's fault she had what he needed. She's beautiful, doesn't have that haughty look he's seen plastered on the rest of them. She seems more real, like she might actually have a soul. But no, she's a witch, she's one of them. At first he thought her beauty was a spell, that she had used magic to draw him to her. She is just as gorgeous, if not more, passed out on her floor, so he knows now it wasn't a trick. Of course she would be more beautiful if she and her kind would do what they are supposed to and actually protect their people. Instead of sitting idly by, letting poor innocent people be charged for crimes they did not commit. They don't even have the decency to come and see the suffering. They stay in their castle, doing nothing. It's despicable.

Someone needs to stop the horrible trials, and since the witches aren't doing anything, he needs the mask. He looks fairly human, can pass for one in the dead of night. The problem is he needs to be around in the daylight, to truly make progress, and his grey skin prevents him from doing that without raising suspicion about what he is.

It was surprisingly easy to sneak into the vault. He suspected it would be protected by magic, but if it was, he somehow avoided it. He knows there are no spells that keep all vampires out, and most work on the assumption that they all drink human blood, so it's probable that's how he got in.

Robin and his Merry Men are unique vampires, they do not kill, do not hurt the humans. They live in the forest and subsist on the blood of animals. They kept this area safe, that is until Nottingham showed up.

Now Robin and his men are on the run as Nottingham builds his army to take them out. Before they lived in peace with the other vampires, and vampires knew to avoid targeting people in this area. But Nottingham sees them as a threat to the very existence of vampires as a species and has convinced many that the Merry Men should not be allowed to continue their lifestyle.

That's the reason Robin was willing to take on a witch for this mask. That and his two secret weapons, poppy seeds, which worked and worked well enough he was able to escape without worrying about the cuff.

The cuff is Nottingham's invention, another prize Robin stole. It's supposed to vanquish a witch's magic. Robin doesn't know for sure how it works, but knows that it does because he witnessed Nottingham use it on Maleficent, a witch from another district who he then turned into a vampire.

She is rumored to have escaped Nottingham in early January, and Robin would have offered her a place with the Merry Men but she disappeared. It's a shame because she did her job, and did it well, protecting her district from the vampires right up until Nottingham cuffed her. A couple of the Merry Men are stationed in her district, keeping it safe, awaiting her return. He had thought she would return there as soon as possible, but it's mid-April and there is still no sign of her, in this or that district.

Robin's so set on returning to camp he almost misses the smell. The sweet intoxicating smell of human blood. It used to affect him more, but years of abstaining have helped with the cravings. He takes a deeper breath, trying to determine if this person is in trouble. There's adrenaline for sure, but no fear. He smells anger, annoyance and hatred, but little fear, and something off he can't quite place. He's about to move on when he realizes what that something off is: it's the smell of magic.

He whips around and there she is, the dark haired witch he knocked out earlier. He flies back as she magically ties him to the nearest tree. What she doesn't know is rope is no match for him. He stealthily frees his hands as she approaches him, reaching into his pocket to retrieve the mask, and he feigns being trapped. He's free, could strike, but waits for the perfect moment.

She thinks she's winning, smirks at him and tells him. "And you thought you could outsmart me, vampire. Ha."

He lets her take her moment, basking in her victory and then he strikes, cuffing her and breaking free from the ropes. He can't resist rubbing it in her face.

"As you were saying?"

She snarls, bites back, "I could kill you with my bare hands, rip your still beating heart out. Why are you testing me, vampire? Do you have a death wish?"

She doesn't realize he's suppressed her magic, and well he can't resist taunting her. "Why don't you try?"

She looks incredulous, but then reaches toward his chest and grips, grabs onto him but her hand won't go in.

Now he smells the fear, and sees it across her face, but her voice stays steady as she asks, "How is that possible?"

"I've taken your magic, and good luck getting it back, that cuff can only be removed by the person who put it on, and it's not in my interest to take it off and give your magic back."

Her eyes flash with anger, her tone venomous. "My family will kill you for this vampire."

He smirks holding up the mask. "Ah yes, but only if they find me, and with this, they never will."

"You son of a bitch, I will find you, I will get that back and I will get this cuff off and then I'll make you pay for this."

He just laughs. "I'd like to see you try."

His teasing is interrupted by a silver arrow whizzing by his head, causing him to gasp. It seems Nottingham and his men have found him. He needs to get the hell out of dodge, but he's left this poor woman defenceless and Nottingham will no doubt kill or turn her. Even though she's a witch, Robin doesn't want her death on his conscience.

He offers her his hand, knows a safe place he can take her but she spits on him, and jabs him in the stomach hard with her elbow, then she runs in the wrong direction, toward the ambush.

He tries to warn her but she knocked the wind out of him and all that comes out is a wheeze as he watches her get caught by Nottingham's men. Though he feels bad, he runs off the opposite direction, trying to avoid capture. But luck is not on his side and he is dodging arrows left and right as he zig zags, trying to outrun Nottingham. He knows it's futile, Robin is strong, but human blood makes a vampire faster and that's an advantage Robin doesn't have. He's smarter than Nottingham and that's how he's avoided him, but in a race Nottingham would win everytime.

Robin doesn't give up of course, but Nottingham and his men catch up with him after a while and Nottingham's right hand man, Killian, backhands Robin with his hook, knocking him out.


	2. Trapped

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Robin and Regina are trapped in a cave after being captured by Nottingham

She's trapped, trapped in a cave that seems to have no way out. And worse, she's trapped without her magic and with a vampire. It's his fault she's even in this mess, Nottingham only caught her because of this guy's idiocy.

She may not have her magic but she could do some damage if he tried to hurt her. He was knocked out hard, and she heard Nottingham's men laughing about how weak he was, when they threw him down into the cave with her, before covering the entrance and leaving her in near darkness. The cover lets in a little bit of sunlight, enough so she was able to see in front of her and explore the cave.

There's not much to see, but importantly there's a water source and to her surprise Nottingham's men lowered down some food, so it seems she won't be dying of starvation. However, there's nothing for this vampire to eat but her and she wasn't provided anything to restrain or subdue him with. She looked around for anything that could be used as a weapon but there is nothing, not even a loose rock.

The cave has clearly been used as a dungeon of sorts before. There's two furs in the corner, that had been arranged by a prior occupant as a bed. Regina's parked herself there, claiming the spot, the idiot vampire can freeze at night for all she cares, it's his fault they are in this mess anyway.

He stirs and she wonders how long it will take him to attack her. He should be weakened from his injuries, which may give her a slight chance, but she knows she's no match for the strength of a vampire.

Her only hope is if Nottingham moves her before he wakes up, but he's stirring again so it seems that's not happening.

His eyes open, he's confused, disoriented and this is her chance. She leaps up and pins him down with her bodyweight, wraps her hands around his neck and squeezes.

She's never been quite this close to a vampire before, but desperate times call for desperate measures. It's not as unpleasant as she would have expected, he's warm and soft, not cold and hard as she expected.

He growls and pulls at her hands, as she grips tighter and tighter, intent on choking the life out of him. But even injured he's stronger than she anticipated and easily pulls her hands off him, as she realizes just what a stupid plan this was, and how hard it is to actually kill a vampire. Strangling him was never going to work. Her heart races in anticipation as she braces herself for blows that don't come.

Instead he laughs, more of a scoff really. "If you wanted to get on top of me all you had to do was ask. I'd be more than happy to show you what it's like with a vampire."

She jumps up off of him disgusted. "As if I would  _ever_  do that willingly."

He smirks, the jerk. "So the humping me was an accident then?"

Who does this guy think he is, and better question is: why isn't he trying to kill her? Perhaps he's trying to lull her into a false sense of security.

"I was trying to kill you."

"Mm well you failed." He states plainly, as if she wasn't already aware of that fact.

She rolls her eyes. "Yes, thank you, I hadn't figured that out yet."

"You could try again, I wouldn't be opposed, I like it rough," he says, punctuating it with a wink.

"You're disgusting," she tells him as she settles back down on the makeshift bed, sighing and turning away from him.

Of course, he doesn't take the hint and keeps talking. "So did you take a look around or did you spend all of that time plotting to kill me?"

How stupid does he think she is? "I was looking for a weapon or a way out, but there aren't any."

"Hmm, we'll see."

Her eyes narrow, as she bites back, "Well, have at it then, but don't bitch at me when you don't find anything."

"You forget that I have enhanced senses."

God, is he ever going to shut up? "Tell you what, if you manage to find something, I'll give you the bed, that's how sure I am you won't."

He agrees and comes back, looking triumphant, gleefully telling her, "I found something."

"What?" she asks, and hopes it's an easy way out.

"Water."

She huffs, "I already found that, you said weapons or a way out, so the bed's mine."

"Actually you said you looked for those, but then when you challenged me, you said if I find something, and, well, I did."

She shakes her head, exasperated. "I am not giving you the bed."

"I'm not opposed to sharing."

"Over my dead body."

"That could also be arranged."

She doesn't know why, but her mind is telling her he's not a threat, after all, he could have killed her easily, but hasn't. He's still annoying and far too arrogant, but she feels safe, and so she pushes him.

"I don't think you could do it."

His eyes narrow. "Don't be so sure."

"If you were going to kill me, you'd have done it already."

"Well, maybe I'm just biding my time."

She looks at him skeptically. "The longer you wait, the weaker you get and the more likely it is I'll figure out how to get this thing off."

"The only way that's coming off is if I take it off, and I won't be doing that."

He's infuriating. If he took it off, then she could just transport them out of this prison, but he doesn't trust her, and she can't exactly blame him, she did jab him in the ribs earlier. And wait, why is she thinking about helping him? When she gets the cuff off, she can transport herself out of there, and what happens to him will be of no consequence to her.

She's going to have to build his trust if she's going to convince him to take this thing off, so she might as well keep up the conversation, no matter how annoying he is. "How'd you get into my vault anyway?"

"It was a shockingly easy place to break into, you'd think a witch would protect it better."

"I did protect it, no one who's had human blood could enter. How did you get past that?"

"I think you know the answer to that already, and it's the same reason I'm not feeding on you."

So he doesn't drink human blood, or at least hadn't in the last two weeks; that's surprising.

"And how long until that changes? How long do I have? Two, three days before the hunger outweighs whatever moral code you think you are following and I become your meal?"

He stares right into her eyes, his blue eyes piercing into hers as his tone softens. "I swear to you that I will not be feeding on you."

She's oddly touched by his declaration, and he said it with such conviction, she believes him.

"Then we'd better find a way out of here before you starve." And god what is with her? We, there's no we, just her gaining his trust so he will take the cuff off.

In the spirit of gaining his trust, she gives him one of the furs, even though it means she's sleeping on the rock hard ground.

* * *

His companion is very attractive but aloof, and he just can't help pushing her buttons. Logically he knows he should just uncuff her, but he knows that this cave blocks people from transporting in and out, so they will have to find another way anyway. She's much more likely to abandon him if she has her powers back.

He knows why Nottingham put them together. Knows that no blood will come for him and that they expect him to feed on her, until she's taken care of and his reputation is destroyed. And fuck Nottingham, Robin's not going to let that happen. He'll starve before he murders someone, even a witch.

No matter how tempting she smells, and she's very tempting, he will deny the primal urge to bury his fangs in her neck.

She hasn't bothered to tell him her name or really anything about her and he's curious, not because he's interested in her, no, just because he's bored and there's nothing better to do. And okay, maybe he's a little interested to know more about her, err, rather witches generally, just so he understands his sworn enemy better.

"I'm Robin by the way."

"That's nice," she says in that dismissive way of hers that makes him want to push her buttons.

"It is nice, especially when it's on the lips of a woman." He smirks at the exasperated look she gives him. Vampires have a reputation for being womanizers and, even though it's far from the truth where Robin's concerned, he likes flustering his companion, and these sorts of comments never fail to get a reaction out of her.

"And what's yours?"

She rolls her eyes. "Why would I tell you?"

"I mean I could keep referring to you in my head as my sexy companion, but I thought you might prefer something else."

She actually laughs a little at that to his surprise. It seems she has a sense of humor after all.

"Regina."

Queen, it fits with his mental image of a traditional witch, which she's not like, and still it suits her.

"So, Regina, why haven't you done anything to protect the people from Nottingham? Why are you letting people get burned alive when you know they aren't guilty of witchcraft?"

He watches her face carefully and for a second several emotions flash across it, but then it hardens and her tone comes out venomously. "You mean protecting them from your kind?"

He gets defensive. "No, not my kind, some of us actually protect and value human life, unlike you and your kind."

That enrages her, he sees the anger flash in her eyes, smells the fury rushing through her veins, so he's not surprised when she snaps at him. "Really? Well then, why haven't you stopped the trials and why the Hell were you wasting your time stealing from me when you could have been helping them?"

"There's only so much one can do without people noticing their grey skin unless they have the mask, and, since you are failing at your duty, I felt compelled to do something."

She's getting more and more angry, and shouts at him. "Well that worked out perfectly for you, didn't it. Now Nottingham's got the mask again."

He yells right back. "And who's fault is that? If you had just done your job in the first place, we wouldn't be in this mess."

"ME? You are the one that stole the damn thing and put it in his hands. You are the one that left me powerless so I couldn't get it back, anyone he hurts now, that's on you!"

As much as he hates to admit it, she's right. "I own my mistakes, and taking the mask was one. I just, I just wanted to be able to do something, to stop feeling so powerless watching Nottingham hurt people."

Her face softens and she looks at him curiously. "You were seriously going to use it to help humans?"

"Yes."

"But, I don't, you, you hate humans."

"That's not true at all, I want to protect. Vampires don't need them to survive, my men and I are proof of that, and my kind has caused humans enough suffering to last a lifetime."

She stews for a minute, pondering what he said, and then she admits softly, "I want to do more, you know, I don't like sitting idly by while all of this goes on, but I'm not strong enough alone."

"Then you need to convince others."

"Don't you think I've tried? I have spent my days pleading with my mother to do something, I watch every death in horror, ashamed of myself for not being able to stop it. I was given power to protect them and instead I'm stuck guarding a stupid mask day in and day out."

Her confession shocks him, he hadn't considered that she was just as frustrated as he with how this was being handled.

"Well, when we get out here, you've got yourself a partner to take down Nottingham."

"I don't remember asking for one."

"You didn't, but you need numbers and I have them."

"Just… don't get in my way, or I'll have to kill you," she teases.

"I wouldn't dream of it." God, she's beautiful when she's not eyeing him suspiciously and plotting his death. Now that he knows she trying to protect the humans, he doesn't feel guilty for noticing. He lets himself enjoy her beauty and her sass.

If she wasn't a witch, he'd be all over her; well, and if he wasn't so damned hungry. His hunger makes her that much more attractive and he's torn between a desire to feast on her neck, and fantasies of being with her, kissing down that neck, but not biting, drawing out sounds of her pleasure. His hunger has weakened his self control and he finds himself musing about how her mouth would taste, the sounds she would make if he kissed her, the feel of her hot and warm around him.

He realizes he's gone down an unfortunate path and wills himself to focus and stop with the inappropriate fantasies.

They get along much better after the fight, each day he trusts her more and more, and he thinks she feels the same. His problem is that every day his attraction grows, so does his hunger. It's been seven days since his last meal and he won't last much longer without sustenance.

That's why, on their third day in captivity, he takes off the cuff. He warns her that it will take some time for her magic to return, but she's determined. The day was cold and, as night falls, it grows colder and colder. He sees her trying to make a fire, but without success.

His teeth are chattering as he tells her, "It's not going to work, more time has to pass."

"I just need to keep trying," she insists, but he can see the weariness growing.

"You need to take a break."

She ignores his suggestion, still concentrating, trying to build a fire. "I won't risk sleeping and freezing to death just when I've got my magic back."

"You won't freeze to death."

She stops for a minute, actually looking at him this time. "Well I won't be able to sleep either, it's too fucking cold."

He blames the hunger. Why else would he be making such a ridiculous suggestion? "I could warm you up."

She arches a brow in response, a silent  _seriously?_

He goes on, "Not like  _that_ , we could share the furs and our body heat."

She seems to be finally heeding his advice, has given up on building a fire, and has turned her attention to him. "I thought vampires were supposed to be stone cold."

He smirks at her, punctuating his response with a ridiculous wink. "Myth, my body actually runs warmer than most humans, but you can come see for yourself."

She doesn't move. "How do I know this isn't a trick?"

He rolls his eyes, not this again. "If I was going to hurt you, I would have done it already, and I uncuffed you, didn't I?"

"Okay."

He thinks she just acquiesced, but he's not sure. "Okay what?"

"Okay, let's try your idea, but if you try anything, I swear to god."

"You have my word."

An hour later he's regretting his decision, she fell asleep easily, and has moved closer, snuggling up to him in her sleep, and her presence and scent are far too distracting. God, he's so hungry, he must be getting close to the end. His body aches, his muscles tense and pained from starvation. Every breath is painful, with her so close, her heartbeat and scent torturing him. She's just so intoxicating, he wants to lose himself in her, the feeling of her body against his is magical and, well, at least if he dies, he's dying in the arms of a beautiful woman.


	3. Bat

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Regina needs to find a way to help Robin, and to get out of the cave

She wakes up pleasantly warm, and a bit...distracted. She fell asleep in his arms and the one around her waist is surprisingly comforting.

But his face is buried in her hair and his lips are so close to her neck that she can feel his hot breath. Her neck is sensitive and it's been a while, so every breath on her neck sends a shiver through her. She should move away, should stop this, or do anything but what she does next, as she leans into him.

As she shifts he lets out a little groan in his sleep that's painfully sexy. She can feel him hard against her and she wonders, just for a second, if he's dreaming of her. If he wants her the way she wants him.

She lets herself imagine how those hands would feel, if they travelled up to cup her breasts or down to stroke at her. It's a dangerous train of thought that has her shifting again, and  _accidentally_ grinding against him.

He lets out another sound, a sharp moan and her body reacts, lighting up at the sensual sound. It seems she's so sex deprived her body thinks it's a good idea to get hot for a vampire. It's been far too long since she's been with anyone and now she's paying the price.

No matter how sexy he is, how badly she needs sex, and she needs it badly, that won't be happening.

His hand moves slightly, shifting lower and she's painfully aware of how close it is to her clit.

And that can't happen, so she should get up, and she will in a minute, after she revels for a minute, or two.

And if she grinds against him again, it's another accident. This time though he wakes up and distances himself from her.

She turns so she can face him, keeping the space between them and is shocked at what she sees. His face is haggard and he looks exhausted, his skin almost white, his eyes losing their shine.

He looks sickly, and then she remembers he hasn't eaten. She tests her magic tries to conjure some blood but she still can't access it.

"How long has it been?" She asks.

"8 days." He says, his voice weak.

"I still don't have my magic, I can't conjure anything."

"The cave," he starts, then his body shudders. "It blocks transport, you can't leave and can't bring anything in."

He does not look good and she's very concerned. "How much longer do you have?"

"Can't be sure, but I don't think much longer."

"I-" she starts, but she doesn't know what to say.

"S'Okay, I knew this is what would happen when I took the cuff off." He shivers again, his face growing paler. "I wanted to make sure you'd be able to do something once you get out of here."

That's sweet, but she doesn't want to leave without him; she needs help if she's going to defeat Nottingham.

"No, I'm not letting you die."

He smiles ruefully, "It's inevitable at this point, I'll die without blood."

Then it becomes clear to her, she can help him. "Then take mine."

"What?"

"Drink some of my blood, I do have extra to spare." The look of shock on his face would be comical in a different situation.

"No, absolutely not."

"Why not? Are you going to let yourself die because of some stupid honour code, I'm offering it to you."

"Regina, I haven't… I'm too hungry, I wouldn't be able to control it, and I won't hurt you."

She knows he wouldn't. "You won't, just take some, enough to ward off death for a day or two, while we figure out how we're going to escape."

"No, I can't."

He is exasperating. "Robin, just do it, you've said I can't conjure things but I might be able to heal myself, a theory I can't test unless there is something to heal."

He shakes his head, "No, I-"

"Oh for god's sakes, Robin, just do it, do it or I'll use that sharp corner to cut myself and I'll force feed it to you."

"I-"

She's firm. "No, I'm not finished. You aren't dying on me, okay?"

He nods weakly in defeat. "Okay."

Good, she's won, but now she's at a bit of a loss. "So now what, you bite my neck?" She warms at that thought, thinking how good his mouth would feel on her neck.

"Wrist will do."

Right, that makes sense, she's not at all disappointed by that. She walks over and sits beside him, placing her left wrist in front of him. He grabs it with his hand and slowly brings it up to his mouth as she watches intently.

"Are you sure about this?" he asks, breathing on her wrist in a way that makes her heart race.

"Yeah."

"I don't want to hurt you."

"You won't."

"How do you know that?" he asks, staring at her.

"I trust you." And she does, more than she trusts most people in her life; for some reason, she is confident he won't hurt her.

"Okay, ready?" he asks, still staring at her with those intense blue eyes.

She nods and he pulls her hand up to his mouth and bites, digging into her skin so the blood flows out. It doesn't hurt, at all, and then he's licking her wrist, lapping up the blood he's drawn out, and it feels amazing, too good, and she takes a couple of breaths to calm her racing heart.

He's sighing and it does nothing to help with her raging hormones. She's flooded with images of him sighing like that as he tastes other parts of her.

He's breathless when he pulls away to ask, "Are you okay?"

And shit she's caught, she flushes with embarrassment until she really looks at his face and realizes he's looking at her with concern. "I'm fine, really."

Some of the colour has returned to his face, but he still looks pale and sickly, so she urges, "I feel fine, you can take more."

He groans at that. "You taste amazing, you have no idea how hard it is to stop."

"Then don't," she says boldly.

He listens, dives back in as she tries to keep her mind from straying this time.

She starts to feel a bit woozy and all she gets out is "Robin" and he immediately stops, flicks his tongue over the wound, sealing it with some kind of magic. She didn't know vampires had such an ability but it makes Robin's way of life, how they are able to live with out killing, make much more sense. She wonders if perhaps the legends of vampires once co-existing with humans are actually more than that. 

"You okay?" he asks, licking his lips in a way that pulls her eyes to them.

"Yeah, just a little faint for a second." She studies his face, he looks a thousand times better now, and very alluring, she wants to get lost in those eyes, but no, that's not what she's here for.

"Can you heal it?" he asks, concerned, and right, that's what she should be doing.

She concentrates, focuses on her internal organs, imagines them creating more blood and it flowing through her body.

"Wow," he breathes, breaking her focus.

"What?"

"It worked." She looks up at him confused. How does he know that, she knows it because any trace of weakness is gone.

"I can smell it," he explains, "the magic and then the blood."

"Want more?" she offers, holding her wrist back out for him.

He grabs her hand and places it back down. "I'd rather not, I'm good for now and no offense, but I'd like to limit the amount I consume."

She gets that, though she is not sure she would make the same decision, this is his one chance to indulge and she thinks he should take advantage.

"Well suit yourself, but let me know when that changes."

* * *

She falls asleep in his arms again, and there is really no need, it's warmer, but she likes the feel of sleeping with him, not that she'd ever admit that to him.

They are laying on their makeshift bed, both awake but reluctant to leave the comfortable embrace. This is their fifth day trapped in the cave and even though she has her magic back they are nowhere near close to finding a way out.

Yesterday she tried everything she could think of but could not transport them out. All she managed to do was move Nottingham's cover a little and let the rain into their shelter. For some reason she couldn't remove it completely, but even if she did they would need a ladder or something to get out because they are at least 40 feet down.

Nottingham's men lower food by rope, but are smart enough they immediately rescind it, taking away that escape route. She'd hoped one of them would be stupid enough to leave the rope, but so far no such luck.

She tests the cover again, manages to move it a few inches and the sunlight floods in, temporarily blinding her.

Robin groans beside her, but his tone is light and teasing. "You couldn't have warned me, it's rainy season, were you just going to let me get soaked if it was raining?"

She smiles innocently. "Well you do need a shower."

"Are you saying I smell?"

She arches her brow and says nothing. She's teasing him, he doesn't smell, well doesn't smell bad. He smells like forest, pine trees, and campfires, and it's surprisingly pleasant.

"You didn't seem to mind it last night. If I recall your face was cuddled up into my chest."

Shit! She didn't think he was awake for that; she hadn't been able to sleep, couldn't find a comfortable position, and had turned to face him, settling herself on his chest.

"I don't remember that," she denies haughtily.

"It was quite the treat when I woke up in the middle of the night."

"Well, don't flatter yourself. I must have moved while I was sleeping."

His face shows how much he doesn't believe that, but then he smirks as he responds, "So you were unconsciously seeking me out, I do think that's also a compliment."

How does he do that, turn every comment into some form of flattery. She sighs but can't keep the (slight) smile off of her face. "Whatever, vampire, believe what you want."

He chuckles and then asks, "Should we leave that open? We don't want Nottingham's men knowing you have your magic back."

"They've already come with my daily rations, so unless the routine changes today, we should be fine."

Her reassurances don't have the desired effect and he looks concerned. "Still, I don't think we should risk it."

She's relents because he's right and reseals it, already missing the sunlight.

They spend the day trying to find other ways out of the cave, but it's a fruitless exercise. Come nightfall she's frustrated, on edge, and taking it out on him.

He surprises her because he doesn't back down. She's being unfair, she knows that, and he calls on her on it, refuses to entertain it.

It's refreshing in an odd way. She knows she has a temper and that she misdirects her anger, her sister Mary Margaret being a victim to that many, many times, but no one has ever called her on it and made her talk about what's really bothering her.

She shares her frustrations with Robin and it's nice to unload, to have someone who listens sympathetically and validates her feelings.

She's nearly finished her ranting when Robin twitches and shushes her. She waits, confused, and then she, too, hears a noise. There is something in the cave with them. She can't see anything because it's dark, but she hears it.

She lights a fireball in her palm to illuminate the cave and sees a bat flying around, trying to escape.

Robin starts talking, but she's not really listening. "Oh, the poor guy is trapped with us."

She's trying to figure out how this bat got in, because it would have made its appearance known earlier if it had been here the whole time. She looks up confused and OH, it hits her, the way they are going to escape.

"Robin," she hisses excitedly as she opens the cover wide enough that the bat can escape. He turns to her and she points up at the moonlight now streaming in.

Robin doesn't see it right away so he doesn't share her enthusiasm. "Oh, so he can get out."

She smiles broadly. "Even better, now we can get out."

He looks confused, even more so for a second as she transforms herself. She tests out her wings, flies around in a little circle, getting her bearings. It's surprisingly easy to fly as a bat and she has a bit of fun flying around. It's nice to move unrestricted after days of being cooped up in the cave.

Robin looks amused at her antics and she remembers she's supposed to be escaping. She flies upwards and makes her way out of the cave. She's free, after five days of capture, it doesn't feel real, but she knows that it is.

She spies the rope Nottingham's men have been using, carelessly tossed to the side, and she smiles at their arrogance.

She transforms back to herself and uses her magic to remove the cover entirely before lowering the rope for Robin.

He climbs up, his muscles bulging as he pulls himself up the rope. He's breathless and sweating as he emerges from the cave and she tries not stare at his glistening skin  _too_  intently.

She shakes her head, trying to clear the images of him above her and grabbing onto those strong arms, feeling the hard muscles in her hands as he drives her wild.

"So," she asks, trying to keep the husky quality out of her voice. "Where to now?"

"My camp is about a two days' journey from here, give or take."

"Robin," she says teasingly. "Did you forget I have magic? I can take us there, just tell me where it is."

"Very well, Milady, I don't have a reference point because it's kind of in the middle of nowhere, if you took us to Tana, it's about an hour and half from there and after being cooped up, I could use the hike."

That's reasonable. "Take my hand and hold on tight."

He looks perplexed, but does as she says and she tries not to notice the warmth that fills her at the feeling of his hand on hers.

She transports them and they stay still for a moment, him likely gathering his bearings and her trying to figure out what's next. She should go home, but she's loathe to deal with her mother's wrath when she finds out Regina lost the mask and doesn't think she can stomach sitting around doing nothing again. Still her family is likely worried, at least Mary Margaret would be, and she shouldn't leave them that way.

She hesitates because of her mother, not because she's going to miss Robin.

"Shall we make our way to my camp?" he asks, still clutching her hand in his.

"I should, uh, get back home."

He nods in understanding. "I'm sure your family will be worried."

Neither of them move and then he adds, "But, it's the dead of night. Surely it would make no difference if you returned in the morning. And I'd like it if you knew where my camp was, just in case you ever need to find me."

It's a bad idea but she finds herself agreeing and they walk hand in hand to his camp.


	4. Bang

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What happens when Robin brings a witch into his camp?

He's happy she's agreed to join him at his camp and he'd be lying if he said he didn't want her to stay. They need her and her power if they have any hope of defeating Nottingham. But it's not just that, he grew attached to her while they were imprisoned. He likes her, more than he should, and he isn't ready to say goodbye just yet.

They reach the edge of the camp and he stops, putting his arm up to stop her, as well.

"It might be best if I go ahead first."

He sees her nod in understanding. "I take it your  _friends_ won't take kindly to you bringing a witch into the fray."

He's quick to reassure. "They'll like you, I'd just rather not have whoever is on sentry duty wake everyone because they smell magic."

Her skepticism is evident on her face. "I highly doubt that, but it's fine because you've showed me where to go. I can find it I ever need it, so I should go."

"No!" The fierceness of his tone surprises both of them, and shit, he is making a total fool of himself. "I, uh, I just mean you shouldn't leave yet, you need to meet my men so, if you stop by when I'm not here, you don't get attacked."

"Mm, well, I guess that make sense."

He lets out a breath he didn't realise he'd been holding, he's far too happy she's not leaving just yet. You would think after spending almost six days with her he'd be tired of her company, but he's not, not in the slightest. If anything, he wants to spend more time with her, wants to get to know her better, to see her elusive but satisfying smile. If he's being really honest with himself, he longs to kiss her, to hold her in his arms, but that is something that can never happen. A vampire and a witch is unheard of, after all, they are sworn enemies.

He makes his way into the camp and sees John, sitting by a fire, doing a very poor job at keeping watch. He decides to have some fun. He sneaks up behind him and throws his hands over his eyes, causing John to jump up into the air and yell out, "What the-" and then he sees Robin. "For fuck's sakes, Robin, you scared the bloody hell out of me."

Robin can't help but chuckle at the dramatic reaction. "Well, perhaps if you had been doing a better watch, I wouldn't have been able to." He really should be scolding John, someone could have easily snuck into camp on his watch, but Robin's tired and doesn't want anything upsetting John before he tells him about Regina.

John shrugs and then moves on, sitting back down. "Where have you been? We've been worried sick."

Robin sits beside him on the bench. "I got caught by Nottingham and thrown in his cave."

John pats him on the back. "I'm glad you escaped. We thought the witches had you, but we sent Will and there was no trace of your scent there. He didn't see the mask though, so we thought maybe you had it and were somewhere else."

"No, I got the mask, but then Nottingham captured me and took it."

"Oh shit, so how'd you manage to escape?"

"I had some help actually." He turns over his shoulder and yells into the woods, "Regina, you can come out now."

John's face is friendly until she gets closer. He can smell the magic on her and then he hisses, "Robin, what the hell are you doing bringing a witch to the camp? Are you insane?"

Robin speaks calmly, loud enough that Regina can hear, too. "Relax, John she helped me escape, she's not a threat to us."

John glares at him, refusing to turn and look at Regina. "Of course, she's a witch, you know better than to bring her here, now we have to find a new camp."

Robin rolls his eyes and turns to Regina, who's frozen awkwardly, clearly uncomfortable.

"Regina, my tent is that one with the blue door behind us, could you give us just a minute, please."

She looks like she's going to challenge him, but then turns and makes her way into his tent.

John at least has the decency this time to wait until she enters his tent, not that it does much good because he shouts, "You cannot be serious, Robin."

Robin hisses, "Lower your voice. Let's not wake the whole camp."

John's tone is mocking. "Oh what, so I don't hurt your girlfriend's feelings?"

"That's enough, John," Robin says coldly. "It's not like that, she is the key to us defeating Nottingham and we need to work together."

"So what, you are willing to risk it all on this girl you barely know who may have bewitched you?"

"When you spend five days in a cell together, you get to know each other pretty well, and I'd still be in that cell if it wasn't for her. But you know what, you don't trust her, that's fine, trust me."

John storms off in a huff and informs him, "It's Will's turn for watch, you can go wake him up and give him the news."

Robin shakes his head, frustrated, he gets that John doesn't trust Regina but by god's they've known each other for years and he should trust Robin enough to know she's not a danger to them.

He's still fuming when he goes and wakes Will, telling him that he brought a visitor, she's not a threat and that they will discuss it in the morning. He can tell Will has more questions, but he is not in the mood for another fight, and Will is a good enough friend that he doesn't push.

He enters his tent, belatedly realizing he should have asked for some sort of sign she was ready for him to come in. She's sitting on his trunk, the only spot to sit other than the bed and jumps a little as he enters. He's quick to apologize and she shakes it off.

She gets up off the trunk and whispers softly, "It's not worth it, you know."

He leans in so he can hear her better. "What's not worth it?"

"I'm not worth fighting with your men over. It's not- I'm not worth it."

He feels guilty that she had to listen to that but she is so wrong, she is worth it and they need her if they are going to take down Nottingham. It pains him that she can't see her own worth.

"I think you are worth it, you saved me, twice actually, and I owe you a debt."

She scoffs and moves to leave the tent, bringing her even closer to him. He stops her, his hand lightly grabbing her waist as their eyes meet. He see the conflict in her eyes and he wants to take it away. "Regina, we need you, I need you, the only way we are going to win this is if we work together."

"I'm just a liability."

He turns so they are actually face to face, his hand still on her waist, and he looks deeply into her eyes as he tells her, "No you are not, you are smart, capable, powerful, creative, and... Beautiful." He hadn't actually meant to say that last one, but she's so close and he's so struck by her beauty, it slipped out unintentionally.

She moved in just a little at his words, so their faces are mere inches apart, and his other hand moves to thread through her hair. The air is charged, and he can feel his heart racing in his chest as he sees her look down at his lips. He does the same, wants so badly to kiss those bright full lips and watches as she takes her lower lip between her teeth. He's unsure if it's intentional, but she releases it when she looks back up at him and he can't help himself, he needs to kiss her. He leans in, so close he can feel her breath and-

Will storms into the tent, then realizes his mistake. "Aye, uh, sorry, mate, I was, uh, just, um, wondering if the lady needed her own tent, but, uh, clearly that's not needed, so I'll, uh, just be going then."

They break apart and she lets out a little chuckle at Will's stammering. "No, you weren't interrupting, I was just leaving to figure out where to sleep."

Will's face shows he doesn't buy it, but he doesn't press them. "Well then, I can help you set one up."

"That won't be necessary, just show me where I should put it."

Will walks out and she follows, whispering a "Goodnight, Robin," over her shoulder.

His mind is still reeling from that almost kiss and he curses Will to every God he can think of for interrupting. That may have been his only opportunity to kiss her, to know what it feels like. It was probably for the best, but it doesn't stop him from fantasizing about what her lips taste like and what it would be like to have her in his bed. Because he's alone with his fantasies for the first time in almost a week, he lets a hand slip down as he imagines how good she would feel, and the sounds she would make. He comes with a soft cry of her name before drifting off into a dreamless sleep.

* * *

She shouldn't have stayed, should have left last night after that almost kiss. She doesn't know what she's still doing here, it makes no sense, she needs to get home. Except what is there for her at home? Going back to a life of doing nothing and only interacting with her family is depressing. As much as she hated captivity, it's been nice to have a break from the monotony that is her life at home.

She likes Robin, a lot, too much, and she wants to help take down Nottingham once and for all. It's supposed to be her family's job, but she's the only one taking it seriously.

So maybe she could stay and work with the Merry Men to get the mask back, but then, then she needs to go home. She can't be spending so much time with vampires. She can practically hear her mother scolding her for bringing vampire smell into her house.

She thinks she hears her name outside, followed by some muffled grumblings, which she takes as her cue to actually get up out of bed and leave her tent. She changes quickly, with the help of magic, into a red velvet dress and cloak. It's warm, comfortable, and, though it doesn't look it, surprisingly light and easy to run in, should she need it. She throws her hair into a loose braid, puts back on her boots, and then makes her way out of the tent.

There are seven vampires, all men, gathered around a table, as they debate what she can only assume is her presence at the camp.

She coughs sharply, alerting them she's near and Robin turns to invite her in. "Good morning, Regina, Alan here knows where Nottingham's likely keeping the mask, so we're hatching a plan to get it back."

John grumbles to himself, but says nothing, though the look of distrust on his face makes it clear he'd rather she not be a part of these plans. The others either don't mind, or are just better at hiding their dislike of her. Will moves, making a spot for her between him and Robin and, since there is nowhere else for her to go, she takes the spot and tries to focus on the task at hand and not the attractive man beside her.

They spend the morning planning the attack and she learns a lot about these vampires; they are smart, cunning, a well-oiled machine. She thinks she wins everyone's trust with her suggestions, well, everyone except John, who seems to have decided ignoring her and pretending she doesn't exist is his best bet.

The plan is finalized by mid-afternoon and it's genius in its simplicity. Nottingham's lair is split in two sections. Robin and Regina will go in one way, while Alan and John go the other. The Merry Men know the lair inside out and have a scent system she doesn't really understand they deploy if one of them is caught that somehow tells the others where they are and whether to escape or try to rescue them.

Tuck and Much stay to guard the camp, while Gilbert and Will accompany to take watch for each pair.

Regina offers to transport them all there, but John is still wary of her. Instead they walk, taking the (unnecessary) two hour trek through the forest to Nottingham's lair. She's glad she picked this dress, both because of all the walking and because of the temperature. The days are slowly getting longer and warmer, but the night temperatures still drop to below freezing most of the time.

They arrive and split up, Regina spies the underground entrance easily, but goes in last as per the plan. When she gets in, it's dark and she can barely see. She stumbles on a rock as John and Will go off to the right.

"Shh," cautions Robin. "You must be very careful and very quiet."

"Does it get any brighter?" she asks, her voice as soft as she can make it.

"Not until we get into the main castle."

Great, this is going to be fun. She slowly makes her way toward Robin, but navigating is difficult and she's paranoid she's going to hit something and make too much noise. She knows she's falling behind, so is shocked when she bumps Robin.

He chuckles at her faint intake of air upon hitting him. "This isn't working, get on my back and I'll run for it so we catch up."

There's no time to argue so she does as he says, gripping her hands tightly against his neck and wrapping her legs around his waist. They come up into a vent of some kind, he urges her off his back while he holds onto the corner. The vent is small so he keeps his body down in so she has room to climb off of his back. Once she's off he climbs up and they awkwardly shuffle so he can get back in front of her. The vent has small openings that look down onto lit rooms. She's looking down into one them, Robin a few crawls ahead, when she sees it, the mask. It's hidden from view by a sheet, but she can feel the magic coming off of it. She crawls forward, jabs Robin, and points down. He looks down in confusion, then takes a breath as understanding colours his face.

There doesn't seem to be a way to get out of these vents without being smaller, so she does just that, transforming into a bat so she can fit through the grates. She flies down to inspect the mask as Robin grumbles in displeasure. She knows she was supposed to follow his lead, but she had a solution and explaining it would waste precious time.

There aren't any spells guarding the mask that she can sense, so they should just be able to grab it and go. She starts to fly back up to tell Robin but he's not there anymore, he's beside her and pulls the sheet away. She changes back, since apparently there was a way down, then hears a voice and freezes.

She hears "Mal" coming from the other room, and she approaches the wall trying to hear better.

There's a second voice that sounds awfully like her stepfather, but she can't make out what's being said. She needs to know what they were saying about Mal, her childhood friend who disappeared months ago, another problem her family has ignored.

"Regina," hisses Robin. "We need to go, now."

"Wait, I just-"

The door flies open and there's one of Nottingham's men. He goes to cry out, to sound the alarm but she's faster, stealing his voice, so he can't do that. She only recently learned this trick, she found it when she was killing time guarding the mask, then tested it out on her sisters until it was perfect, and she may have done it couple of extra times, just to be certain.

She misses the pistol he grabs as she turns to reach for Robin's hand to transport them out of there. Her mother can transport people without skin to skin contact, but transporting others has never been Regina's strong suit.

She's inches away when she hears the bang. The sound reverberates through her brain, and it takes her a minute to realize what's happening as Robin falls to the floor, still clutching the mask.

Nottingham's man shoots another time, just missing, and she catches a glimpse of silver whizzing by and her blood runs cold as she remembers what her mother told her about the ways to kill a vampire.

Her stomach is in knots, panic flooding her, this is her fault, Robin is dying because of her, because she didn't listen. She wants to throw up, to scream, cry and kill this bastard all at once. She sends the silver bullet back at him, using magic to ensure it hits its target.

He goes down and there is no time to lose, she grabs Robin instinctually and tries to transport them out of there, but she can't focus, too many emotions swirling as the poison spreads in his system, snuffing the life out of him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't hate me, you don't have to wait long, just a day =)


	5. A Second Bang

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Regina tries to save Robin. 
> 
> Using my wildcard and the prompt bang again

They land in the middle of the camp and Robin's eyes are closed, his skin paler than when he was starving in the cave. The mask falls from his hand to lay beside him.

"Oh god, what happened?" comes from a voice, but she's too focused on saving Robin. She tugs at the ammunition, pulls it out, and throws it off into the woods.

She chokes out, "Silver," between the tears as she tries to stop the poison from spreading.

A hand reaches for her shoulder and she hears Tuck sorrowfully tell her, "You've done what you can, but it's silver. There's no stopping it."

"Robin, Robin, oh god, please wake up, Robin." No, it can't end like this, he can't die because of her, she won't let him. She tries again to draw out the poison, feels it fighting against her with every tug. Her arms are burning, on fire, as she tugs and tugs at it.

She hears the sharp gasp from behind as she manages to pull a little bit of it out, but it's all tangled together, a web, and it's ripping him up as she tugs on it. If she can get it out, she can heal those scars, but it needs to come out.

Her whole body aches from the effort and she's shaking. Every muscle is screaming at her to let go, that she's not strong enough, but no, she refuses. It cannot end this way. Not when, not when, not when she hadn't admitted her feelings, he can't die, not before she tells him.

It's not fair, she hasn't even told him how she feels, hadn't even admitted it to herself until this moment, that she wants to be with him despite everything.

She takes a shuddery breath and pulls harder, focusing on the good moments with Robin, trying to channel his strength. He grabs her hand, distracts her for a second. He's staring at her, trying to speak but can't, and she pulls harder. He screams wordlessly, as his skin rips but he grips her hand harder, grits his teeth, and nods. He mouths something that looks like  _I believe in you_. Their eyes meet, and then she gives it one last pull, summoning all her strength and, just like that, the last part comes out. She falls back, no longer tethered to him.

"Re-gina," he breathes out weakly. "You, you saved me."

She pulls herself back up to sitting beside him, takes a couple of deep breaths, and tries to focus on healing the open wounds she created. Her body is tired, so tired, but the relief that he's okay drives her, the adrenaline providing energy to her weakened muscles.

"See," he jokes feebly. "Good as new."

She lets out a half sob, half laugh at the absurdity of him joking right now. Her hands are roaming all over him, needing to touch him, to confirm he's okay.

She strokes his face gently as he says, "See I told you I needed you."

She smiles, then leans in and presses her lips to his. It's everything she'd been wanting and more, and she goes to pull away, cautious of their audience, but he pulls her back in for another. He keeps it relatively chaste, soft open mouthed kisses, but it doesn't stop her from growing warm with anticipation. She sighs gently as he pulls away.

He stands up, taking her by surprise. She must have done a better job healing him than she thought. She needs to kiss him again, and she looks around as she gets up, realizing their audience has dissipated.

He pulls her back into his arms and kisses her deeper, with intention, his one hand threading through her hair as the other makes it way down her back. His tongue slips into her mouth, gently at first, until she gives it a light suck and he groans, hip lips growing more desperate against hers. He tastes like pine, with hints of nuts and smoke, it reminds her of the forest he so loves.

He pulls her in closer so her body is flush against him, and she's warm so warm from the heated kisses and the feel of him against her.

And god, she can't get enough of him, needs more. He plants a few kisses on her jaw and her breath comes out in short spurts, her heart racing. She doesn't want him ever to stop, she's burning for him, all that repressed desire and attraction making itself known.

He is breathing heavily, too, whispers "Regina" into her skin and she shivers, suddenly intent on how the night is going to go.

"Robin, take me to your tent."

He pauses the line of kisses he's been dotting across her neck and chest. "Are you sure?"

She's never been more sure of anything in her life. "Take me to bed, Robin."

He groans at that and scoops her into his arms like she doesn't weigh anything. Then he's kissing her again, tongue filled and heady, his strong arms gripping her and pulling her closer. She's moaning into his mouth, pressing her chest against his and somehow, amidst all the kissing, he manages to get them into the tent.

He drops her onto the bed lightly, tosses off his shirt before climbing on top of her. And god, it should be a crime for him to wear a shirt. She runs her hands over his hard muscular chest and he shivers and lets out a light moan at her touch that ripples through her right down to her core.

Then she's the one moaning when he brings his lips to her ear, his hot breath on her neck as he whispers, "I need you so badly. God, Regina, the things I want to do to you, I want to feel you."

And oh yes she wants that, too. He nibbles on her ear lobe and then moves his lips down slightly, kissing along the side of her jawline and then down. And Oh God, every touch of his lips to her skin sends a rush of warmth through her, as her need for him grows and she trembles with anticipation. He flicks his tongue on the underside of her jaw where it meets her neck and she swallows so hard he can probably feel it.

He slides his tongue down her neck a bit and then bites down just a little and it's so good, she pushes his face into her neck harder. He takes the hint, biting her more firmly then sucking, and she moans loudly, her head tipping back as she surrenders to the feeling.

His hands palm over her gown to fiddle with her breasts as his mouth keeps at her neck. And it feels amazing, the feel of his hands but she wants more, want to get rid of the layers of clothing between them. Though she's loathe to lose him against her, she pushes him away and turns so he can undo the little hooks on her dress. She could use magic to take it off, but she likes the idea of having him remove it.

He murmurs in approval as she turns around and he unhooks her. Her dress falls off her shoulders, pooling at her hips as he plants kisses along the back of her shoulders. The moan she lets out as he kisses down the length of her spine would be embarrassing if he didn't answer it with his own soft sound of approval.

She needs him badly. She spins back to face him, shimmying the rest of the way out of her dress and pulls him in for another heated kiss. His hand travels down to where she is wet and aching for him, and she can't help but whimper in needy anticipation.

He groans when he feels just how wet she is, and slides two fingers inside of her as he lowers his mouth to her breast, pulling her nipple between his teeth. The combined stimulation feels fantastic and she gasps, "Harder." And what he does is even better than she expected, his thumb moves to circle her clit at the same time as he sucks her nipple more firmly in his mouth.

She's crying out incoherently as the pleasure builds from the triple stimulation. She's flying toward the precipice, every thrust of his fingers hitting the perfect spot, sending shocks of pleasure through her, making her burn even hotter for him. She is right there, her whole body tensing as it aches for release. 

He circles harder against her clit and that's all it takes, and she comes with a loud cry of his name, trembling as he lets her down gently.

She can see him hard in his trousers and she pulls at the laces, pushing them down, and he moves so he can take them off the rest of the way.

She's there ready, waiting expectantly, but he just stares for a second and then asks, "Are you sure you want to do this? We can just…" He puts light pressure back on her clit and licks his lips to emphasize his point.

That he asks makes him sexier, and yes, yes, she is sure, and a rush of heat fills her at the thought of his mouth on her, but she decides she'll have her fun, so she pushes him down onto the bed and switches them. Now she's on top of him, lets her mouth explore his skin. Her efforts draw out those sinfully delicious sounds that have her wanting and needy again.

When he huffs out, "Please, Regina," she takes pity on him and shuffles so she's straddling him, right below where she needs to be. She takes him in her hand, and he says, "Regina, tell me this is what you want." And it is, but she's not that vocal so she nods before shifting and lowering herself onto him.

"Oh God, you feel so good, don't know if I can, can- God, yes."

It only takes a few tries for her to find the perfect angle, one that has the heat blooming in her belly with every thrust. He's close, she can tell as he cries out again. "God, Regina, I- Oh fuck, do that again, god, love, you feel amazing."

She brings her hand down to slip between them, rubbing at her clit, gives it the firm pressure she needs as she takes him as hard as she can. He's crying out about how good she feels, and how close he is, which only serves to drive her even closer.

She can feel the tension in him as he tries to hold on for her. He's choking out desperate pleas for her to let go and come for him. And she feels the tension grow and grow in her until it explodes and she falters in her rhythm as she spasms and twitches around him.

Ha takes over, driving into her from below, prolonging her orgasm. He holds on just long enough, pulling out and coming with a sharp cry of her name as she comes back down.

She cleans up the mess with a wave of her hand and lies down beside him.

Her voice is far too breathless when she tells him, "You didn't need to stop like that."

He groans. "We hadn't discussed it and I would never without permission, I wouldn't risk it like that."

This isn't a topic she's particularly comfortable with, and doesn't want to ruin the mood. "There is no risk."

His face twists and she knows he's going to say something sweet or sympathetic but she doesn't want to hear it. "And besides, I wanted to feel you too."

Her comment has the intended effect and he smirks, "Noted, I'll be sure to... confirm your wishes next time."

She smiles at his next time, setting aside the fear and enjoying being cradled in his arms. She lets everything fall away and falls asleep within moments.

* * *

He wakes up with Regina in his arms and he can't help but smile. She looks stunning, snuggled up into his chest. He doesn't want to disturb her from what appears to be a very peaceful sleep, so he just sits and watches her.

The night before hadn't gone at all as he expected. When he got shot, he really thought it was all over, and all he wanted to do was tell Regina how he felt. That night was simultaneously one of the best and most painful of his life. The feel of being shot and the poison spreading had been agonizing, but even more painful was when the poison was being ripped from him. He could feel it clawing at his insides and trying to plant itself.

It was absolute agony, but he knew getting it out was the only way he'd survive, and so he gritted his teeth and tried not to scream. When it left, his whole body slackened as relief flooded him.

He had tried to tell her how he felt as she tended to his open wounds, but he couldn't get the words out he wanted to say, too afraid of scaring her off. And then she had kissed him, and all of his troubles faded away. He had thought the kiss would be it, but she was full of surprises.

Seeing her, feeling her, being with her was better than all of his fantasies combined. He had to stop himself from telling her he was falling for her because it was not the appropriate moment for a heartfelt confession.

He knows it's too soon, they've only known each other a week and it isn't love, not yet, but he has never felt like this about anyone.

She stirs gently and looks up at him with bleary eyes and a smile that melts his heart.

"G'Morning," she tells him as she stretches out and then settles back into his arms.

"It is a good morning, that was the best… sleep I've had in a long time."

She smiles at that and then smirks. "Are you sure you mean sleep?"

He laughs. "I did have an incredible sleep."

"Just the sleep was incredible?"

He presses soft kisses along her jaw as he tells her, "Last night was incredible, too, better than incredible actually."

She sighs at his lazy attention, he intends to keep it relatively innocent but she moans when he accidentally grazes her breast as he goes to kiss her and soon he has his face buried between her thighs, enjoying her in a way they hadn't got around to the previous night. He manages to bring her up twice before his needs becomes too great and he buries himself inside of her, rocking against her until they both come.

He lays back after, basking in the afterglow, and she lets out a long groan.

"I never want to leave this bed."

That sounds like a great plan to him. "So don't."

She gives him a half assed glare. "I have to go home."

Her tone isn't that convincing. "Or you could stay."

She gets up out of bed, gathering her clothes, this time more firm. "No, I need to go, and  _this_ can't happen again."

Then he's frowning. "Regina-"

She cuts him off. "This would never work, you're a vampire, I'm a witch, this was a lack of judgment, nothing more."

He's shocked by her sudden change of mood, they were having a lovely morning and he has no idea what brought this on. "That's not true and you know it, Regina."

"It is and I'm sorry I let it go for so long."

No he's not letting her off that easy, he knows she's lying but can't figure out why. "Regina this is more than that, I'm falling for you and I think you are falling for me, too."

Her reaction to his confession is not at all what he expects. She looks almost fearful for a second, and then her face is hard, tone sharp. "Robin, this was a mistake. We got caught up in a moment, scratched the itch, nothing more."

That hurts him deeply and he doesn't want to believe it's true. "It meant a hell of a lot more than that to me and I thought it did to you, too."

The last thing she says to him is, "I'm sorry to have hurt your feelings, but you're wrong," before she disappears in a wave of purple smoke. The scent of her magic lingers in his tent as he replays that conversation over and over. He really thought she was interested but she made it clear she was not. 

He finds out from John that she took the mask and then transported herself out of the camp, and he knows she's gone home.


	6. Scream

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Regina goes home and tries to convince her family to deal with Nottingham as another victim of the witch trials is set to burn for her crimes

The hurt look on Robin's face haunts Regina as she makes her way into her mother's estate. It's her home, where she lives, but it's never truly felt like a home, not somewhere she ever feels the need to return to. The estate is dark and unwelcoming, designed to keep people away and uninterested.

"Regina? Oh my god, you are alright, I was so worried," her little sister yells before wrapping her arms around Regina and squeezing her in a tight hug while Regina stands awkwardly. Mary Margaret is a big hugger and Regina… is not, but she has been gone for over a week so she (begrudgingly) grants her sister this moment.

Her mother comes down and tsks her disapproval at Mary Margaret's show of affection before commenting with an upturned nose, "Regina dear, you should go freshen up, you smell like vampire."

Regina rolls her eyes. Of course, that's the first thing her mother says to her, not  _are you okay_ , or  _why were you gone for a week_. "Thanks for the concern, Mother, these things do happen when you are trapped with one for a week."

Mary Margaret gasps, but Cora's face shows no reaction. "You did bring the mask back with you?"

Regina sighs. "Yes, Mother."

"Well good, now go on and get changed, we're having a family meeting in a half an hour and I won't be able to stomach that smell."

She does as her mother asks, though there is a small part of her that doesn't want to wash away Robin's scent, that last remnant she has of his presence. She can't see him again, it's too dangerous for him. While her mother has sat passively by as Nottingham's terrorized their district, Regina knows she would hunt Robin down and kill him if she ever found out what happened.

Regina couldn't risk him coming after her, so she channelled her heartless mother to convince him she wasn't interested, even though it was the farthest thing from the truth. She wanted to stay, wanted to be able to leave her life behind and enjoy the blossoming romance with Robin, but that kind of happiness isn't in the cards for her, her mother had already proved that once.

Her mother would only be satisfied with a king or a sorcerer, and if somehow she found a king, Regina had no doubt they would die a mysterious death. Her mother wouldn't killa sorcerer though, sorcerers are extremely rare, Regina's only met two in her lifetime, her stepfather and Merlin. Cora had tried desperately to have Merlin propose to one of her daughters, but it was never going to happen. Her mother had been too unaware to realize Merlin's friendship with Lancelot was much more than that.

Most witches settled down with humans. Regina found it ironic that Cora refused to let her daughters even consider that option, unless the human was a king, when only one of her daughters' father was a king.

Zelena's father had tricked Cora into believing he was royalty, and he gave his life for that lie. Regina's father had been a prince, but when a neighbouring King became available, Regina found herself fatherless. Cora had seduced the naive king, was just about to marry Mary Margaret's father, when she met Rumple and decided a sorcerer was better than a king. Mary Margaret resents Rumple for that, but Regina thinks she ought to be grateful, as Rumple's courting of Cora saved King Leopold's life. Of course Mary Margaret doesn't see it that way, can't fathom that Cora would have killed her father and doesn't believe that their mother is responsible for the death of Regina's father. Mary Margaret is too trusting, always sees the good in people, and rationalizes their mothers cruelty instead of fighting back.

Their mother has far too much control over her daughters' love lives, because she is not above hurting anyone they were interested in that wasn't up to her standards. Zelena hadn't experienced it, too caught up in trying to win Cora's praise, but Regina and Mary Margaret had.

Regina was the example, for Regina, it was Daniel, the sweet stable boy, who taught her how to ride and quickly became her escape. She was young, but very much in love, and had tried to run away with him, but Cora caught them. She gave Regina a choice, sort of: Regina could come home alone, and Cora would take all of Daniel's memories of Regina and set him up with a happy life in another country, or Cora could kill him.

As her mother held Daniel's heart in her hand, Regina had begged her not to do it and in the end relented, returning home heartbroken.

Her mother hadn't stopped there. When she realized Regina had given herself fully to Daniel Cora had acted out in anger, forced her to drink a potion, one that burned her insides as her mother told her it was her punishment. She didn't understand what her mother meant until months went by and she realized she hadn't bled since taking that potion. Mal confirmed what she already knew to be true, that her mother had made it so she couldn't have children and she had cried heavy tears on her shoulder, mourning the loss of something she didn't know she wanted until it was taken away.

Mary Margaret wasn't half as bold or half as sneaky as Regina had been, so all Cora had to do was threaten David, and Mary Margaret told him she just wanted to be friends. Mary Margaret foolishly thinks she'll be able to convince Cora David's a good man and a good match.

As much as it hurt Regina to hurt Robin like that, it's for the best. She will not let him get caught up in her mother's wrath.

She bathes, but she leaves her dress unwashed, hides it in a trunk where her mother won't look and burn it. She knows what Cora would say if she knew, that it's sentimental and stupid, but what she doesn't know won't hurt her.

She makes it down for the meeting just on time. The rest of her family had clearly been informed of her return because Rumple and Zelena do not look shocked to see her.

Cora sighs heavily, bringing attention to herself before she begins. "As you may or may not know, there has been another witchcraft trial. Nottingham is suspected to be behind it, but he hasn't been seen in daylight, that we know of, since we first got the mask. Now because of Regina's negligence, he may have roamed undetected in that week he had the mask."

"I was a little busy trying to escape and get it back to figure out whether he used it or not."

Cora glares at her. "Really, Regina, that tone is not necessary. The damage is done and now we need to plan our next move."

That Regina can agree on. "So what's our plan? How are we saving this girl?"

Rumple gives her a look and Regina knows she's not going to like what he has to say. "It's too late for this one, the Sorrensdatter girl. She's to be burnt tomorrow at sunset."

No, they are not doing this again, they cannot let another innocent person die. "Tomorrow? Then there's still time."

"No, we'll be detected, it's too risky."

Regina feels her face redden as her tone rises. "So what, it's worth the risk. Even if we are detected, it's not like the humans could hurt us."

"No, I stand by what I said. It's too risky, we won't be intervening. And I mean any of us, so don't try to fix this yourself, Regina."

She's over this. If they won't help her, she knows people who will, even with her hasty departure that morning. She doesn't want to give up so easily though, can't have them suspect her plan, so she keeps fighting for another half an hour before she acquiesces.

She waits until she's sure everyone's asleep and then she poofs herself to the Merry Men's Camp.

She scares John when she appears, and it seems her saving Robin has earned her his respect, because he doesn't have his normal scowl that accompanies her presence.

He recovers well enough and asks, "Should I get Robin?"

Robin pops out of his tent at the sound of his name and his face is pained when he sees her. He approaches silently, as John tries (and fails) to skulk away subtly.

"Why are you here?" He asks coldly, as she deserves.

"I'm sorry, I didn't have anywhere else to go. There's been another trial and I have to do something."

He nods in understanding. "Yes, we know, her name is Marian, we only found out a few hours ago, we're leaving in the morning."

"I'm coming with you."

He smiles for the first time since her return. "I assumed as much. Get some sleep, we leave at 9 sharp."

"Robin, I-"

"Regina, I can't do this now, I need some sleep."

She sighs, but doesn't fight him, settling down for the night in her tent, still set up from her last visit. There's so much she wants to say, but she doesn't know how to explain it all.

He avoids talking to her about them the whole journey, keeps it to small talk and group conversations. They agree she'll go assess the situation first and report back, while they hide in the shadows to avoid detection.

It's a plan that goes to hell before it even starts when Robin picks up the smell of fire and they break into a sprint. She's slower, comes upon the sight after and it's horrifying. She sees the pillar, or what's left of it. She falls to her knees, choking out a sob at the atrocity. This wasn't supposed to happen until sunset, she was supposed to save her.

Robin's voice is eerily calm, given the situation, as he urges his men to go back to the forest.

"Regina, I know it's hard, but we can't stay here, it's not safe. Nottingham's men could be around, we need to leave." He offers her his hand and she uses it to stand on her unsteady legs. She's seen a body before, but this, someone burned alive, it's something no one should ever have to see, let alone have to endure. Her heart is broken for this poor young woman, the eleventh victim of her family's inaction.

"I just, it was supposed to be at sunset, we were supposed to have more time."

"That's why we need to go, someone obviously tipped Nottingham off we were coming."

They run off hand in hand and she hopes the horror is over. Then she hears John set off the alarm.

* * *

It's been a horrible day. He knew when he smelt the smoke and that sickening acrid smell that the worst had happened, that she was already gone, Marian, his sweet childhood friend, his first crush. She hadn't shied away from the vampires, and that had been her undoing. Nottingham preyed on her good heart and trusting nature, drawing her into his trap. Robin had tried to rescue her, and he found her, too easily, which should have been his first clue. She had been returned to her home, but the Marian he knew was gone, tortured into believing the lies Nottingham had planted. She had confirmed the rumours that she was a leader and instigator of witchcraft activities in the district. At her trial, she confessed all the lies Nottingham had planted, and told the world that she needed to repent for her sins.

She had a child, just a baby, and Robin shudders to think of what will become of him, the son of a "confirmed witch" and any other children orphaned in this mania.

He knows what he will see when he comes upon the site, but it never fails to shock him to his core. He can feel the grief rising, and he wants to fall apart, properly mourn his friend, but his instincts take over. She was to be burnt at sunset, but it was moved to sunrise. There is only one explanation: Nottingham. They need to get out of here, now.

His men hurry off back into the cover of the forest, but Regina is frozen, and he can't just leave her here.

He helps her up, urges her to come. She grips his hand tightly, and he squeezes back, a subtle comfort he can offer, even though he knows it won't change the heartache and desolation she feels.

They hurry off hand in hand as he tries to stop the agonizing images of Marian pleading for her life and screaming as the flames approached that refuse to stop circling in his head.

Then he hears the alarm go off, that one that tells him Little John is in trouble and he picks up speed, as Regina struggles to keep up. They run into the clearing and find the Merry Men, encircled by Nottingham and his men. Robin takes in the scene, looking for possible escape routes, but there are none. Four of Nottingham's men push them into the centre of the circle.

They are outnumbered, surrounded by enemies. Nottingham's army has grown since the last time Robin saw them and he turns slowly to take in the new recruits when Regina inhales sharply.

He hears her astounded "Mother," and he follows her gaze to see an older witch and a man, a sorcerer it seems based on his smell. That's unexpected, he didn't know there were any sorcerers in this country. He curses himself for letting his guard down as he is frozen in place and all of the Merry Men's weapons fly into the hands of the sorcerer.

The woman, the one Regina called Mother tells her, "You shouldn't be here, darling, this doesn't concern you."

Regina's voice shakes as she accuses, "It was you all along, you were working with him."

It's the sorcerer who answers. "I always knew you were the clever one, Regina."

Her mother dismisses her. "What are you still doing here, Regina? Go home."

She's firm in her refusal. "No, not without answers."

"Why would you do this, turn a blind eye to those you are supposed to protect to help him?" Robin asks, confused as to what would lead them to team up with Nottingham, their sworn enemy.

"Me." says a voice and then Mal, the witch turned vampire appears, it seems she didn't leave Nottingham's party after all.

Regina gasps, "Mal?"

The sorcerer goes on. "You see when I heard what Nottingham had done to Mal, it intrigued me. You vampires have one thing we don't, immortality. So I offered him a trade: Mal for us leaving him alone and a promise he would turn me if I ever asked. I wanted to test her power out first before I tried it, you see, I wanted to ensure I would be immortal and all powerful."

That's unexpected and fucked up.

"You can't be serious," hisses Regina from beside him.

"But I am, Nottingham has created an even more powerful race, and Mal is the first of the new kind."

Regina turns to Mal. "You're working with them?"

She looks offended. "Absolutely not. Rumple trapped me, limited my magic, so he could perform his little experiments on me, I don't have a choice here."

"I'm so sorry I had no idea, if I knew I would have tried to help, you have to know that."

Mal smiles faintly. "I know you would have, in spite of the monster I am."

"You're not a monster, if anyone's a monster here, it's Rumple and Nottingham." That touches him, probably more than it should considering it wasn't directed at him, but he knows he had at least something to do with her changing perception of vampires.

Nottingham chuckles then announces, "As touching as this reunion is, soon you will all be dead, starting with my dear Robin Hood, the insipid thief that's been a thorn in my side for far too long. But there's no way to save you now, you're surrounded and outnumbered."

He raises the pistol and Robin doesn't move, doesn't flinch, won't give Nottingham the satisfaction. He's lived through this once, he's under no illusions he'll survive a second round. He sends up a silent prayer for his men and for Regina as he keeps his gaze on Nottingham.

The next thing that happens shocks him even more than the sorcerer's confession. Regina throws herself in front of him and announces boldy. "If you are going to kill him, you'll have to kill me first."

Nottingham just smirks. "Oh how quaint, a little forbidden romance. Well that can easily be arranged, my dear."

Her mother cries out firmly. "No, it cannot, that is not part of our deal. My daughters are off limits."

Nottingham says nothing just fires his weapon and Robin watches in horror as he strikes Regina. He hears screaming, it takes him a moment to realize it's him that is screaming.

She grabs her chest where she's been hit and falls back into his arms. He lowers her gently to the ground, his hand over hers, trying in vain to stop the bleeding.

"I- I'm falling for you, too, Robin," she whispers as her eyes begin to close. And no, this can't be the end, she cannot die because of him. He sees red. Nottingham will pay for this, but first, first Regina needs to be okay.

He's still holding her in his arms when he feels that pull that tells him he's being transported. He blinks, still gripping Regina tightly, as a worrying amount of blood flows from her. Her face is pale and he can hear the strain on her heart from the wound and all the blood loss. It's growing weaker with every shallow breath she takes.

They land and he takes in where they are. This must be the inside of their estate, he thought only the exterior would be cold and unwelcoming, but this room at least is equally dark and drab.

A young witch with a pixie cut rushes in and cries out when she sees Regina in the pool of blood. "Mother, what happened?"

"I'll explain later, get your sister and put up a protection spell, and hurry."

As he looks around the room he realizes all of the Merry Men and Mal are with him.

Mal approaches and tries to heal Regina, but something's wrong. She hisses a frustrated  _Rumple_  as Regina's heart slows dangerously low.

"Regina, hang on," he begs, "just hang on a little longer, darling, please, you are so strong, you can do it, I know you can."

But it seems she's beyond hearing him, or unable to do as he asks because he hears her heart falter and then it stops beating, for good.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Only one more to go =) AnnyR is going to kill me for this you are welcome to join her


	7. Possessed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Find out what happens to Regina and if they can manage to take down Nottingham once and for all

He's being pulled, someone's grabbing him, commanding him to move, but he refuses to let go of her. He hears a sigh and then he's pulled magically away from her. He goes to protest as he makes his way back to her side, but he sees the magic flowing from her mother's hands and doesn't want to break her focus.

He kneels on the other side of Regina and grabs her hand, pale and cold. He feels it warm up as the magic flows through her body. She shakes, sputters and then takes a deep breath in as her eyes open, locking on his. Relief floods him and it's overwhelming, he's awash with so many different emotions that he can't even begin to process.

He brings his hand to cup her face, then leans down and presses a soft kiss to her lips. She smiles at him as he pulls away and it calms his raging mess of emotions into something much more tolerable. He's just so relieved she's okay that everything else falls to the wayside for a minute.

He kisses her again, needs to feel her, that physical proof that she is okay. She sighs happily as he kisses her.

Her mother coughs, and until this moment, he didn't realize a cough could sound so judgmental. Regina flushes and pulls away, but keeps her hand in his as she sits up.

Everyone was crowded around them, but as Regina sits up, they move back. Robin fights the urge to roll his eyes as some of the Merry Men rush to claim the available seating

Two women enter, who he thinks are Regina's sisters, and they take in the room, the redhead standing uncomfortably at the door as the one with the pixie cut comes over to Robin and Regina.

"Thank God you are okay, what happened?" Before Regina can answer she turns to Robin, "I'm Mary Margaret by the way, Regina's sister and that's our other sister Zelena sulking in the corner."

He figures he should introduce himself as well. "Robin, and these are my Merry Men."

Regina interrupts the introductions, her voice soft but strong as she asks, "What now?"

Mal is the one who answers, venomously. "Now we destroy those bastards for everything they've done."

Robin's conflicted. Because of Marian's death, he wants to burn them all alive, have them suffer the way that she did as punishment, but murdering all of them without giving them a chance to redeem themselves doesn't sit well with him, it's too cruel. He believes, with proper guidance, most of Nottingham's followers could adapt to his lifestyle.

"We have to give them a chance, an opportunity to find the right path, so many of them are new vampires created by Nottingham and have never been shown another path."

"You can't be serious, after all they've done, they deserve to pay for it."

"Nottingham yes, and the ones that have been with him from the start, but not the rest of them, they should be given a choice, join the Merry Men and adapt to our lifestyle or… suffer the consequences."

Cora sneers, "What happens when they slip up and attack the village? I guess you are expecting us to swoop in and save the day?"

He glares at her. "Well, that is your duty, the one you've been sorely neglecting, but no, we would take care of our own."

"Like you have been?"

He rolls his eyes, can't believe they are having this argument when what they should be doing is hatching a plan. "At least we've been trying to deal with Nottingham and weren't working with him."

That brings gasps from both of Regina's sisters who look at their mother in horror.

Cora exhales loudly and dismissively. "Regardless, it's safer just to kill them all."

Mal agrees. "Yes, that's the only solution."

It's Regina who speaks up then. "No, it's not, Robin's right, we need to give them a chance."

Cora grimaces. "How do you propose we do that?"

"A freezing spell, make it so they all can't move and then give them the options, those who don't join the Merry Men die."

It's chilling to hear her talk so callously about murder but he puts that aside and supports her plan, as do the rest of the Merry Men.

Cora doesn't like it. "No, I make the decisions here and I say we kill them all."

Regina is firm. "Actually you don't, and the majority likes my plan, so it's settled, now you can help, or you can stay here, under watch, so we know you don't tip off Rumple."

Cora is clearly scandalized by that implication, which Robin thinks is a bit much given that, less than two hours ago, she was working with Nottingham and Rumple, but he bites his tongue, not wanting to waste anymore time on petty fights.

"Well then," she scoffs. "I guess I'm coming with."

"Okay, glad that's settled, now we just need to find out where they are so we can activate the spell."

Cora's haughty. "I'd assume Nottingham's castle."

Regina sighs. "Yes, well, I'd prefer we know for sure before we rush over there."

Mal clears her throat, drawing attention to herself. "I think I can help with that."

He's the one who asks the question they are all thinking. "How?"

"When he was testing my power, Rumple set up a bond, so he could experience what it was like as a magical vampire. He possessed me, but what he didn't realize was that the bond goes both ways, and when I have my magic back, I could possess him, too, and that would also keep him from counteracting the spell."

"So how do we get your magic back?"

Regina smiles, "That I can help with. I've been saving some spell remover, from the last time we were experimenting with potions and Mary Margaret got put to sleep."

Mary Margaret mocks offence. "Hey, that wasn't funny, I was stuck under a sleeping curse for a whole week because of that."

Regina stifles a laugh and conjures a jar into her hand. She turns to Mal. "Shall we?"

Mal nods eagerly and then Regina stands up and dumps the potion over her head.

It works almost instantly, and Mal turns her skin from grey back to its pre-vampire colour. She smiles wickedly. "Alright, let the fun begin."

Her eyes roll back for just a second and then she returns. "Yeah, they are at Nottingham's castle, I tried to be quick, and I doubt he felt that, but we should move quickly, just in case."

Within minutes, they are all outside Nottingham's castle, awaiting the signal. They all nod when Mal asks if they are ready and then she does it. She doesn't move, her body eerily still as mother and daughters freeze the inhabitants and transport them all out to the field, without their weapons.

Robin makes his speech and tells them to blink three times if they are willing to join the Merry Men. Only three take them up on their offer, even knowing the alternative is death.

They leave Mal, Cora, and Zelena to deal with the rest of them, the Merry Men and Regina already having witnessed enough death for their tastes.

They return to the mansion and await the return of Cora, Mal, and Zelena. It takes them a while to return, and, when they return, Mal explains it was because of Cora. She had tried to save Rumple and Mal had had to stun her then cuff her, so she wouldn't interfere. She wanted to leave it on, as a punishment for Cora's crimes, but she leaves it to them to decide what to do with her.

In the end they decide a life without magic is a fitting punishment for her crimes. Robin's men return to camp but Robin stays at Regina's request.

She brings him to her room to her mother's horror and waits until Cora leaves them to apologize. "I'm sorry, Robin."

He's quick to reassure. "Regina, there's really no need, I know this is unconventional, but I'm willing to take the risk, I just need to know if you are, too, you don't have to decide right-"

He's cut off by her lips on his as she presses her body into his. She pulls away slightly, holding him close in her arms. "I want to, I want to be with you, I only said what I said because I knew my mother would kill you if she found out about us, and I didn't want you coming after me, but now she can't hurt you, and we can be together."

"Regina, I-" he doesn't have the words to express how happy he is but she smiles up at him.

"I know."

He pulls her in for another kiss, throws all of his feelings into it. She sighs breathily, and he wants more, but it's been a long day and, well, now they have all the time in the world. As they cuddle up in her bed to sleep, he can't help but marvel at just how lucky he is to have found her, amidst all the chaos. And how grateful he is that they can go to sleep with no threats hanging over their heads, and just enjoy each other's company.

"Robin," she asks quietly, testing if he's awake he thinks, which is he is, barely.

"Yes love," he mutters sleepily.

"What's going to happen to the children?"

He's been wondering the same thing, he knows what happens to orphans and can only imagine how much worse it would be those whose parents were witches. He doesn't want to break the peaceful mood, but he's honest. "Nothing good I'm sure."

He hears her breath catch and he waits for her to speak but she can't seem to find the words, so he tells her his concern. "The woman who was killed today, Marian, she has a young son, just a baby, I don't know what they've done with him but I'm going to find him, he deserves to grow up with people who knew and cared about his mother and who care about him."

She shuffles in his arms, turns toward him and he can just make out the outline of her face in the darkness. "I'm so sorry Robin. Do we know how many of them had children?"

"I'm not sure, Marian of course, and I think the girl before her as well, I can't quite remember her name, Eliz- no, um Emily maybe-"

"Emma?" she asks quietly and yes that's it.

"Yes, Emma."

As he answers she chokes back a sob and feels he like an idiot for being so callous about it. It's a coping mechanism to deal with the horror that was the witch trials, but it's unfair to the real people that suffered.

Regina speaks softly, her voice cracking with emotion.

"Emma, and she did have a son, Henry and I'm worried about him. She uh worked at the brothel and I used to visit sometimes, not for the services, but to give them money, make sure their children had everything they needed. They know what I am and accept me, and sometimes they would call for me as a healer. That's actually how I met Emma and Henry, she was so young and they were both so sick, tuberculosis. She begged me to save him, that it didn't what matter what happened to her as long as he was okay and made me promised to heal him first."

She takes a shuddery breath and he runs his hand down her back in a way he hopes is comforting as she continues. "When this all started she made me promise if anything happened to her that I would take care of Henry, but I didn't know what had happened to her, until today and I don't know where he is or if he's okay and I've failed her."

She chokes back another sob and he soothes with an "I'm sure he's alright, and wherever he is he's sleeping we will go find him, him and Roland in the morning."

"What if we are too late?"

"I'm sure they are fine love, and even if we found them now we would need to wait until morning to explain everything, they might already have people caring for them they like and we can't just steal them away."

It seems he's won her over because she yawns and asks, "We'll go first thing in the morning though?"

"Yes, of course."

* * *

It turns out there were three orphaned children as a result of the witch trials. Three children now outcasts, that the villagers are trying to determine what to do with. The two boys and girl, Roland, who is not even a year yet, Henry, who only just turned four, and teenage girl, Lily. They bring the kids to the witches estate, and Henry never leaves Regina's side.

She's able to comfort him, in a way no one else can and in the weeks that follow they become thick as thieves, as do Mal and Lily. Robin wants to stay close to Roland, but also Regina, and so the Merry Men move their camp onto the Mills family property, enjoying the magical protection it offers.

Robin has a soft spot for young Roland, he vows to protect him with all he has and to ensure he grows up happy and loved as Marian would have wanted. After a month, Mal leaves and returns to watch over her district, and it surprises no one when Lily opts to join her. Mal makes fun of Regina's tearful goodbye, reminding her that with magic she can visit anytime.

That night, as he lays in Regina's bed, Roland sleeping soundly in the next room, she surprises him.

"You should stay here."

He's not sure what she means, he wasn't planning on leaving her and going back out to his tent, not when Roland's settled in the castle.

"I'm not going anywhere, love."

"No, I mean you stay here, for good, make this your home, not the woods."

He's basically been living her anyway, can't remember the last time he slept in his tent, has used Roland as an excuse to stay inside and thus with Regina. She looks nervous, must think he's going to say no, which is ridiculous, because the answer is so obvious.

"I'd love to."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to everyone who came on this Spooky journey, I hope you enjoyed this as much as I enjoyed the reactions to all my cliffhangers


End file.
